Monday, April 16, 2012

Currently, I am using supplements from the It Works! line. I love how the products are more natural and contain high quality ingredients. My distributor for It Works! is wonderful!! And yes, the links for It Works! are linked to her website. Check it out. I've heard all good news about It Works! supplements AND the It Works! wraps. I have also tried the wraps. To answer your question of whether or not they work: YES they do.

SIDENOTE: I am consuming roughly 1500 calories per day at the moment. That will increase as I get further into the program and am lifting more weights AND incorporating cardio. At the moment the LiveFit program does not have me doing cardio. It's pretty much off limits. Trust me, I am NOT a fan of NOT doing cardio as part of losing weight and/or becoming fit. However, I understand why Jamie Eason has this program set up this way. We shall see how everything goes as I near the end of the program.

Right now, because of where I am in the LiveFit program, I am taking 1 pill from the ThermoFit and 2 pills from It's Vital. If I were consuming more fat and carbs, I would take the FatFighter. The It Works! line and Jamie Eason's LiveFit program are not related and/or do not support each other in any way, that I know of. I am just choosing to take my supplements on a regular basis as I do the fitness program. **Just thought I'd throw this out there.**

As I promised you last week, here is a list of foods I ate for my week 1 of the LiveFit program:

**Typical Breakfast:**Monday-FridayYoplait Greek with Nature Valley Granola ***Why Greek yogurt? Greek yogurt has twice as much (plus a little extra) protein, than your typical yogurts. Protein is good for muscle building, muscle rebuilding. Muscles are a good thing, even if they do weigh more than fat. Muscle is what keeps your metabolism revving so that you burn calories and fat. Plus, having those lean muscles as I age will help deter from other major issues like back problems, falls, etc.***

SaturdayYoplait 2x Protein Yogurt

SundayOroweat Sandwich Thins -- 100% Whole Wheat **It's important to choose breads that are 100% WHOLE WHEAT, rather than breads that say 'whole wheat' because 100% whole wheat breads do not contain any white flour, whereas those that say 'whole wheat', do.Egg BeatersKraft American Cheese slices

TuesdayTreasures From the Sea Flounder FilletsAsparagusEVOO (1 tbsp)StrawberriesWhipped topping--french vanilla **I'm sure this could have been left out, but it wasn't. I usually eat strawberries with whipped topping. There is seriously nothing wrong with having some that satisfies the sweet tooth, as long as it's small and in moderation.**

ThursdayFlounder (8oz -- about 4 fillets)AsparagusMedium Chedder Cheese (4 oz -- little less than 1/2 thin slice) **Kids were having grilled cheese this night and the cheese looked good so I ate it.

FridayRaising Cane's Texas Toast **Bad choice. I know. But oh well. Seriously, the worst part of this bread is that it's white, instead of 100% whole wheat. *Shrugs* **Raising Cane's Sweet tea (32oz). **WASTE of calories. I won't do this again. Well, unless I've been doing absolutely awesome, which I think I did for the whole week. No, I wasn't rewarding myself with food (or drink in this case). I just wanted a really good sweet tea.**Oven Roasted Chicken Breast on wheat bread w/lettuce (Subway)Chipotle Southwestern Dressing (roughly 1 tbsp)

SaturdayTop Loin boneless/skinless pork chop (5.2 oz)Italian Style Arborio Rice (1/4 cup rice made w/2 tbsp EVOO and NO butter as cooking directions suggested) **I just have to say that this rice is absolutely AWESOME!!! It's delicous. I may have to make it once a week. Or maybe I'll do every 10 days since it makes enough for me to have roughly 3 servings (spread out over several days, of course). :)

Sunday: Easy day of NO cooking dinner since we went to Chuck E Cheese and I was still full from my two salads at lunchtime.Italian Style Arborio Rice (leftovers--I ate 2 servings)

**I'm not going to list the a.m. and p.m. snacks separately, but here are the kinds of snacks I ate during the day. Keep in mind, I did my workouts from the LiveFit program on Mon-Thurs, so the p.b. and honey sandwich you'll see is because of those workouts.

So there ya have it. This is what I ate during last Monday, 9 April and Sunday, 15 April. My eating will stay similar. In place of flounder I may have chicken, lean cuts of steak, shrimp (w/o breading or frying), and other kinds of fish.

I am sure I could have made some better choices with some of the meals, but it is what it is. I won't beat myself up when I slip up. I don't believe in down DAYS, but I do think it's okay to have a down MEAL. Those meals will come. As you can see, Friday I had a sweet tea AND a texas toast. NOT the greatest of choices, but seriously, I am not a robot, nor am I a fitness fanatic. I am simply me. Tina. A gal trying to become more fit, lose weight, more healthy, and be a remodel for our children. That's all. There will be things I will change as I go along in the program, but for now, this is what's working.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

"Early in the morning he [Jesus] came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them" -- vs. 2

"Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more" -- vs.10-11

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" -- vs. 12

"Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me" -- vs. 14﻿-16

"He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would diet in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins" -- vs. 23-24

"And he who sent me is with me [Jesus]. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. As he was saying these things, many believed in him" -- vs. 29-30

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" -- vs. 31-32

"Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me" vs. 42

"Why do you not understand what I say, It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil [the world], and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies" vs. 43-44

"But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me" vs. 45

"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God" vs. 47

"Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will not see death" vs. 49-51

"Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" vs. 56 & 58

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Since I am in the first week of LiveFit (check it out here), I thought that I should post a series of pictures. The first one will be BEFORE I started working out in July 2011. The second will be from January 2012. The third will be a recent picture.

Between mid-July and January, I lost 35 pounds. From mid-January until last week, I gained 10 pounds back.

My weigh-in days are going to be Wednesdays. This is the second "phase" of my journey to my goal weight of 125-130 pounds. Since this is my second phase, I figured I'd move my weigh-in days from Monday (first "phase" July '11-Jan '12), to Wednesday. New phase, new day. Okay, so the whole "phase" thing is made up. But hey, might as well get to my goal in a phase, right? I took a break for two months, still watching what I was eating and watching my weight, even though I did gain 10 pounds back. I knew I was going to, anyway, since there were foods my honey wanted when he got home, that I wasn't eating while he was gone. Pretty sure these fast food and dining-in restaurants have made quite a bit of money off of us in the last two months.

I do have a good report: I did weigh myself this morning (I know, I know, it's Tuesday, not Wednesday) and I am down 4.5 pounds (of those 10 pounds)!! That's super awesome ... ESPECIALLY since I know what I ate when we went out to Red Robin! WOWZERS is all I'm going to say!! But hey, 4.5 pounds down at this point in one week, without taking any supplemental shakes (I am doing vitamins and a dietary supplement), eating MOSTLY right, and exercising ... that's pretty awesome! Tomorrow, April 11, 2012 will be my first weigh-in of phase two. I'll post more about the supplements and the foods that I eat in another post, on another day.

**If I was gutsy enough I would post the scale picture on my weigh-in days. Since I am not, you'll have to take my word for it. Sorry.**
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Today is the day. The day that many have asked me to do. To share with them about my weight-loss. Do you want to go on the journey with me? We may not be neighbors, live in the same city, or really even know each other, but at least we can still go on a journey with one another. Right?

I will share what has worked for me in the past, what I incorporate as new, and what things I try that don't fit for me. I hope you decide to take this journey with me. Please, please leave a comment and tell me how you're doing. I would absolutely love your feedback, hear your successes, and encourage you when the going gets tough.

A lot of the things that I do now for fitness are things that I have learned, mainly through research and reading fitness blurbs here and there. I have tried so many fitness programs, or shall I say -- diet regimes, but they have always led me back to where I started. I don't like those types of journeys. I like to keep going and moving forward. I got so tired of that vicious cycle, that when my honey deployed in July 2012, I vowed not to take that same circular rollercoaster, again. Period.

**Let me just say: I am NOT a fitness expert, nor am I some sort of fitness trainer. I have not had any sort of training in either of these three areas.**

From the day my husband left, I ate well, exercised, and drank lots of water. Did I have those days where I ate the "bad" foods like pizza and fries? Sure did. Did I have those days where I'd eat candy and drink full sugar soda? Yep. Did it make me feel bad about what I was doing? Nope. Why should it? I truly believe that if I would have starved myself from those cravings, my weight-loss from July 2011 to January 2012 would have been different.

Now, as I embark on a 12-week fitness program, Day 2 of this program actually, my confidence in completing the program is high. This program isn't one that I plan to just do and then go back to whatever I was doing prior. To be honest, after my honey came home from the deployment, I got comfortable, again, gained 10 pounds and for the most part quit working out on a regular basis. He is also doing a 12-week fitness program with a guy from his shop. So while we are both doing different fitness programs, and while we may not ever workout together, we are becoming healthier together and working out together. It's so much fun!!

Each week during this program, I will post about my progress for the previous week. Next week, week two of the program, I will actually post about week one. I'll post the workouts that I did, the weights used, and the meals that I ate. I am not following the 12-week program verbatim, as far as the meals go. I DO NOT want to become body builder ripped. I want to become lean, stronger, and more fit.

So, will you join me? Whether you plan to do your own program or even one from this site. I hope you plan to become a healthier you.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

1. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed?From what I can remember of March (because it seems that it flew by when I blinked), I wouldn't have changed a thing. 2.What was your favorite thing that happened in March?Starting my two college courses. Granted, adding the two college courses to homeschooling three kiddos is proving to be a bit stressful on me, I am thankful for the two classes I am taking at the moment. 3. Check your phone… who was the last person you called and what is your favorite thing about them?Well, the last phone call I made just so happens to have been to my favorite THREE little people -- our children. I called them last night while we were at Kohl's to ask them a question. My favorite thing about Andrew is that I love the intellectual conversations we have. He is always challenging me with the different questions he asks. Research. Research. Research. Mariah -- I absolutely love her caring and gentle nature. She may be small in size, but she has a HUGE heart! Corey -- he's our comedian. I can always count on him to say something funny. The other thing that I love is that even though he'll turn 9 in August, he still MUST give me a "good morning" hug and kiss!! :) 4. If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?I would be my favorite color which is pink. Actually, I really like the coral color right now. It's so springy and bright. I'd color everyone who is feeling down with coral. 5.What are you looking forward to in April?Let's see ... I was looking forward to hearing what (boy or girl) my best friend is having in August, but that's already happened. I am looking forward to our daughter's birthday (the 19th). Meeting a friend for coffee (9th). Meeting another friend for lunch (13th). We'll probably go and do something for our daughter's birthday, so I'm not sure when that'll be; regardless, it'll be a blast so I'm looking forward to that, too.

Friday, April 6, 2012

I was asked this question by Andrew: "Mom, what is Good Friday?" I gave him the "in a nutshell" what Good Friday is about.

Good Friday: This is the day that Jesus, His body bruised and torn,

hung on the Cross on Calvary (Golgotha),

taking our sins and punishment upon Himself.

Dying a sinners death, even though He was sinless.

Pouring out His blood to wash us white as snow.

He did this for EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF US. He did it out of love. He did it to bring His people back to Him.

Why is all of this good?

Without Jesus' death AND resurrection (3 days later) (the reason why we celebrate Easter), we would not be able to have the gift of an everlasting life in Heaven. This gift is a choice we each must make to receive. We can choose to accept it or we can choose to deny it. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33 "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,33but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

I came across this video from someone who had it on their Facebook page. It's to the point, in a nutshell, why the Friday before Easter is called GOOD Friday.

About Me

Hello Visitors ... THANK YOU for stopping by! Here's a little about me:
1. I'm a Jesus lovin' Christian.
2. A very proud Air Force wife, married to my best friend.
3. We have 3 beautiful blessings.
4. I'm a homeschool mom.
5. I enjoy reading, scrapbooking, gardening, spending time with the family and pretty much anything else. AND ... 6. GO STEELERS!!!